Karolina Pliskova, World No. 2, just opened her 2019 Roland Garros journey with a 6-2 6-3 win over America’s Madison Brengle.
“It feels good obviously,” Pliskova said about her debut, after admitting that she had started playing while being a “little nervous”.
“First round is always tough, tricky. You don’t know how you’re going to feel, how you’re going to play. But I had a good couple days of practice, so I felt fine. Not perfect, but fine. And it was solid today”.
Recently crowned champion in Rome, the Czech has left quite an impression on the public despite her poor start on the clay tour: to some, she is one of the favourites to lift the Trophy of the Musketeers this year. When asked if this particular fact means further pressure on her shoulders, Pliskova demonstrated a particular mindset, “Maybe a little bit, but I feel good, so there is no reason why I should feel some extra pressure or why, you know, I should be nervous from this.
It’s only positive. Because I’m having a good season, so of course there’s going to be the pressure that I have to go far in the tournaments, but that’s normal. That’s almost every season is quite similar.
Of course, this one is so far the best, but always there is some kind of pressure, so I’m fine with that”. The Australian Open semifinalist also opened up about her views for the next rounds, “Well, I started well today.
Of course, when you continue in the draw, there is tougher opponents later. […] But, you know, I feel like every time when I play tournaments, match after match, I improve. So hopefully that’s going to happen here too”.
Supported by her family and team during this Grand Slam, Pliskova acknowledged the positive role of her husband’s presence, “He’s here, he’s always coming to support me. And it’s really helping to me because he was at almost every tournament, he was in Rome. […] Sometimes my sister is here too, so it’s good to travel with the family”.
Source: Alice Cimino
www.sports24ghana.com
